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The John Edward Johnson Prize

Michael H. Lythgoe

Lenten Sonnet (II): List

Lenten Sonnet (II)

Turkey vultures feed on roadkill. Ritual.
Bees in Yuma torture workers harvesting
cauliflower. I flavor my cooking
with savory weeds; herbs are sacrificial.
Northern Utes in Farmington, New Mexico
are going green on the Rez. Yellow pistil
in oil paint. Catholic Diocese sold Abiquiu
home, studio to O’Keefe—who paints skulls.
Stare down Grand Canyon abyss. I miss you
in an old adobe chapel: bell tower, prayer
before a cross; tapers weep, melt in gutters
on altar. Lenten processions offer
pilgrims stations, Taos incantations;
Santa Fe is flesh, penance, Revelation.

Lenten Sonnet (II): Text
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